“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey” and, in
by-gone days, adventurers went on safaris through unchartered lands with armed
guard and native porters carrying their home-away-from-home; their main aim
being to shoot big game. Thankfully today we shoot with cameras, and lodges
such as the ones below offer low-impact, high-end safaris, perfect for those
who want to dissolve into the bush and view a wide range of game with their own
knowledgeable guide and rarely another vehicle in site.
Botswana was one of the world’s poorest countries when it
gained independence from the UK in 1966, but is now one of the world’s
fastest-growing economies. With a population of just over two million people,
it’s one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world and much of it
remains a roadless wilderness, where supplies and
guests reach safari camps by light planes. Botswana is the perfect country to
enjoy a low-impact, high-end safari and the below three Belmond Safari lodges
are among the finest available.

Savute
Elephant Camp is in Chobe National
Park, a sweeping expanse of savannah and rolling grasslands, home to one of the
largest concentrations of animals in Africa. Our first task on arrival was
chasing 2 ostriches off the landing strip so the plane could take off. The
mysterious Savute Channel, which feeds the Savuti Marsh, recently started flowing again after a dry
spell of 30 years (probably due to tectonic shifts).

A stream runs right in front of the camp, a magnet for
wildlife including elephants and deer which we can watch from our veranda. Days
start early on safari - at 6am our guide arrives with freshly baked muffins and
plunger coffee, which I insist on having on the veranda, despite the cold, so
we can watch the huge moon set over the stream. We discover why it looks so
large - it’s a ’super moon’, the closest it comes to the earth in a year.

The savannah in the early morning light is gorgeous,
soft blonde browns and muted greens with a faint pink hue in the sky and the
distinctive antiseptic, faintly smoky, aroma of the sage brush, plus the chorus
of bird songs. I love the landscape here, the low hills dotted across the
savannah and the cream, black, brown, orange and green colour
scheme reminds me of The Kimberley and, like that area, these low hills also
contain early rock drawings. On our morning drive, we saw a leopard wander down
to the river to drink, then followed her for about an hour before losing track
of her and heading to the big baobab tree for a coffee stop … only to find her
sitting under it!

On our first drive, we saw elephants, zebra, giraffe
and wildebeest before our driver noticed groups of animals all looking in the
one direction … they were alert and, now, so were we. Then we saw a large lion
strolling along the road ahead of us … we drove around in front of him, he
walked by, we did this several times and each time he wandered straight past
the jeep, one time turning to fix his amber eyes directly on Franz!

Our driver said he was one of five ‘brother lions’
moving in on the area’s local pride. Next day we saw another one greet two of
his brothers by leaning down & nuzzling them, like a playful kitten!

Eagle Island Camp is on the
amazing Okavango Delta, one of the world’s largest inland deltas. Heavy summer
rains in Angola’s highlands fill rivers and channels, which flow across Namibia
into the Okavango River and spread out over 15,000 square kms
into the vast sands of the Kalahari. The lowest lying land, such as that in
front of Eagle Island, remains permanently flooded, while most fluctuates
between water dotted with green islands (during wet season May-Sep) and
savannah dotted with lagoons and swamps. One constant is the giant termite
mounds, on which the islands that dot the plains in both dry and wet seasons
have been built over 1000s of years.

There are no drives at Eagle Island - all trips are by
zippy little aluminium boats, which scoot through the
wide, reed-lined channels, the water so clear you can see the ripples on the
sandy bottom. Here it’s more about the beautiful scenery than the animals.
Though there are plenty of elephants and hippos, and seeing elephants in the
water is a completely different experience to seeing them on land. Hippos are
creatures of habit, forging through timeworn channels (like the one right
beside the steps to our hut), keeping them open so that the waters continue to
flow. They’re also very territorial and will ram the boats if they think
they’re getting too close … we gave them a wide berth.

Our hut had an overwater plunge pool and outdoor
bathroom - I’ve had outdoor showers before, but never one with a view of an
elephant playing in the Okavango Delta! Definitely my favourite
lodge!

The New York Times named Eagle Island’s Fish Eagle Bar
“The Best Bar in the World to Watch the Sunset” … and I have to agree. The
sunset reflected in the water lily-studded lagoon takes the beauty of an
African sunset to a whole new level.

Jacob, our guide, took us out to the village where he
grew up. Some villagers work at the camp or take guests out in mokoros, others, such as lovely Kenny who kindly showed us
inside her mud hut, live a subsistence lifestyle growing a few crops beside their
huts.

The contrast of satellite dishes and solar panels
propped against the wall of a mud hut where cooking’s still done over an open
campfire, was bizarre. The walls of many of the huts are reinforced and
insulated with aluminium cans.

Doris bought chupachups from the village store for the local kids, which made
her very popular. After a wander around the village, Jacob set up morning
coffee on the front of the boat and we shared our biscuits with the villagers
waiting for the local ferry to arrive.

Khwai
River Lodge is on the edge of a forest overlooking the vast
floodplains of the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. The
scenery is more enclosed than the savannah of Savute
and we did several river crossings in the jeep, which were fun. The river also
provides a habitat for many different birds. As it’s not in the reserve,
there’s no curfew and we were able to do a night drive. It amazed me how our
guide, Moses, could see anything in the pitch dark with just a spotlight – but
he managed to find us a serval (like a mini-leopard),
an African wildcat (which looked just like a domestic moggy)
and a springhare (like a tiny kangaroo).

We saw hippos out of the water, and lots of elephants,
including a big herd with young of various ages. We also finally got to see
buffalo up close, plus a troop of baboons. On our last afternoon, we drove past
the local village, home to about 400 San (bushmen) on our way to Moremi Game Reserve. In the reserve, we saw a lioness with
tiny cubs – we took a few good photos before they hid and she sauntered off. We
followed her, which was exactly what she wanted … she let us find her and then
just stayed put, keeping us away from her precious babies.

Next morning we had our final coffee break beside a
waterhole full of hippos with lots of different birds around and a group of
impala in the background … a reminder of how so many of Africa’s diverse
animals seem to coexist in harmony.